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Low Quality PPE Offsets Coronavirus Supply Chain
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the shortage of necessary medical supplies continues to grow. Hospitals and other medical offices are asking their employees to reuse their masks for three days, and in some cases, up to one week. In addition to medical professionals, other industries are requiring employees and vendors to wear a mask as they take precautions for safety reasons. With the world competing for these supplies, the challenges continue to grow, and differentiating what to purchase continues to be risky. Therefore, a little research and proper supply chain strategy can help companies navigate this turbulent environment.
Stories have appeared in the news with the unfortunate reality that the Personal Protective Equipment being purchased does not meet the quality standards needed to offer adequate protection. Canada recently sent home empty planes because the ventilators ordered did not meet their standards. Additionally, the United Kingdom in early April, tossed 250 ventilators for the same reason.
A Wall Street Journal article highlighted how low-quality masks are infiltrating the U.S. coronavirus supply chain. They referenced testing that found that 60 percent of 67 different types of masks allowed more small particles to pass through, than U.S. standards normally permit. Additionally, packages were found to bear unauthorized FDA logos, and those masks only filtered 35 percent of particles.
With businesses from diaper factories to firework factories shifting their manufacturing into PPE product lines, the question is whether or not you are getting the quality you paid for and expect. At the same time, companies from all industry sectors are popping up selling these items with no prior medical supply experience. That, on top of the potential fake FDA logos on packaging, raises concerns regarding authenticity and inferior quality.
Allyn International was recently hired by a company for a consulting project and coordinated factory audits for this very reason. Several factories were unable to supply the hard copies of the requested documents and failed to provide samples for testing. The licenses provided appeared to be legitimate but failed to be verified and authenticated.
Outside of the quality concerns, the next challenge companies will face is getting PPE supplies delivered. In one week, we saw air charter demand increase with 70 percent capacity, driving significantly higher costs. Response times for confirmation of booking decreased from 12 hours down to 15 minutes. Customs clearance delays increased from three days to seven days, and a National Holiday in China compounded the issue. Trying to confirm final production schedules and ready-to-ship dates to avoid the potential scenario of wasted charter costs was another critical factor.
As more companies try to purchase PPE, being proactive and setting aside time to develop a supply chain strategy can reduce your transportation costs and allow more options to fulfill your purchases as capacity continues to shrink. Staying updated with the daily changes in manufacturing and customs laws is vital in this turbulent environment.
Allyn can you help you design a plan, coordinate the factory audits, and advise you on the best transportation options-if you decide to purchase PPE supplies. Send your inquiries to Consulting@allynintl.com.
Contributor: Josh Solow
About Allyn International
Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.